Kommission will EU-Gesetz zum Schutz der Böden wiederbeleben[en] 

"Convinced of the need to act at EU level to protect soil," the Commission is calling on the Council "to acknowledge the importance of soil for the sustainability of Europe as a whole, and to reconsider the need to protect this most precious resource through European legislation," according to a statement released yesterday (12 June) as part of a 'high level conference' focussed on soil and climate change.

The Commission proposed a framework directive on soils in September 2006 within a broad strategy on soil protection (EurActiv 22/09/06). 

In November 2007, Parliament voted largely in favour of a report endorsed by MEPs in the ENVI committee, backing the notion of public soil inventories, as well as the requirement that member states draw up soil remediation strategies seven years after the directive enters into force.

Parliament also voted in favour of adding a list of potentially contaminated sites to the directive, re-inserting an annex that had been previously deleted by the ENVI Committee. 

Further elements of the Parliament's vote included a requirement for member states to identify, five years after the entry into force of the directive, soil protection 'priority areas' and take appropriate measures to protect them against erosion, biodiversity loss and other threats. 

But environment ministers from the UK, Germany and France, backed by Sweden, Austria and Finland, argued that the law, if adopted, would interfere with domestic soil management measures. The UK in particular was opposed to the text, arguing it would lead to 'disproportionate' cost with a negligible environmental benefit (EurActiv 20/12/07).

"Bilateral discussions are under way with member states who opposed the draft legislation to try to overcome this impasse," the Commission's statement said. 

While details of these negotiations have not been made public, the EU executive is apparently leveraging the EU's commitment to fighting climate change in order to produce a shift in member states' positions.

"Seventy billion tonnes of carbon is stored in our soils, and even small losses can have huge effects on our emissions of greenhouse gases," EU Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas said. 

And during the conference, "key players agreed that the role of soil as a repository of carbon must be enhanced," the statement said.

A date for the next discussion in Council or Parliament of the proposed framework directive has not been set.